Ciprian Polund
Ciprian Polund was a young man from Tanis, only son of the late Weiramon Polund and Katherine Olair. Father of Luna Tealeaf and Roderick Polund. Physical Appearance Ciprian Polund stands to to 5'7". He greatly resembles his mother, and has round cheeks with a slightly pig-like nose. Ciprian possesses large brown, somewhat hazel-ish eyes. His skin is also slightly darker than the average Centralian's, something seemingly inherited from his mother. Ciprian also has curly, dark-brown hair, similar to his father's, with a few sparse freckles dotting his cheeks and nasal bridge. He bears a scar from the strike of a shadow dasher across his face, going just barely beneath his left eye and stopping at his nasal bridge. Equipment/Inventory Ciprian possesses three swords. One is an arming sword forged in Enthiour, designed for thrusting. It has the Drute eagle carved from its pommel. The second sword is another arming sword, a gift from Count Garth. Ciprian's name is etched into the blade and scabbard. His third sword is a decorative longsword with High Sindaryn lettering on the blade, reading "Valiant." Its scabbard is also etched with Ciprian's name. Ciprian's primary foot weapon is a heavy steel tungsten warhammer, a gift from Count Ignus. When mounted, his primary weapon is a lance with a wooden haft and wide steel point. Ciprian at nearly all times wears a stone with the likeness of amber on a silver chain around his neck, and a golden flower pin on his shirt or tabard. He also sometimes wears a golden band on his right ring finger. Early Upbringing; Newborn to Seven Ciprian was born under uncertain circumstances, his father frequently unable to attend to Katherine as she carried the child due to his work. She was instead often attended to by her own mother. Despite this, Weiramon tried to make as much time as possible to attend to the pregnant woman, an was present at the birth of Ciprian. Ciprian grew up in the shadow of the fall of Centralia, his father frequently unable to accompany Ciprian and Katherine as he labored as a soldier. However, Weiramon managed to rent a home for the family in Enthiour, ensuring that they would live nearby to where he frequently worked. When Weiramon was promoted to the position of Tanis's Captain, he took his family with him to Tanis, where they benefited greatly from the increased paygrade. Ciprian's father did what he could to ensure the boy's education to the fullest of his abilities, trying to make sure that Ciprian was able to read and write Dormian. Weiramon's death struck the family hard. Katherine, who previously labored gardening as a hobby, now was forced to grow and sell her garlic plants for a profit, the family only really able to keep their home in Tanis through the money given to them under the pretense of Weiramon's previous "death." Speedy, the Allenstinian Shepherd that Weiramon purchased from a kennelmaster, provided a great company to Ciprian, both before and after his father's death. Despite not having known his father for long, nor always having him available, Weiramon still left a great imprint on his son. Ciprian was greatly saddened by his father's death, something that he's balled up and hidden under a playful and apathetic exterior. Squireship and Training Ciprian was trained in very rudimentary sword combat by a mercenary who came into Tanis one day from the east. Before heading west, the mercenary left the boy his two wooden swords, which Ciprian has used once or twice in a spar with a boy from Holland, who was training in medicine. Ciprian was chosen by Avinchy Drute to be his squire, as their fathers fought alongside one another under Gregory. Thus far Ciprian has been drilled intensely, both in fighting with a sword and without it. In a mere three weeks of service to his knight, Ciprian has already displayed the Drute virtue of never surrendering. He has been remarked upon as a more skilled warrior than the average pit fighter, also being instilled the sense of combat being messy and that fair fights don't exist.He's also been trained firsthand to survive on his own in the wilderness, as well as undergoing intense drills designed to instill the ability to withhold information in torture. After 10 months of training, Ciprian entered a fight against the count. He lost handily, of course, but at the end of it he was appraised as being like Avinchy's own son. He was granted an arming sword, designed for thrusting, and a round shield emblazoned with the symbol of the Drutes on its face. Ciprian's training was finally concluded at the age of twenty, when he was knighted among a crowd in Enthiour by Avinchy Drute. He swore allegiance to Central and House Drute, pledging to be Avinchy's brother. The Hunt, and the "Death" in the woods One night, Ciprian's lover, Astera, told him of a monster hunt that was to occur soon, an excursion into the eastern wilderness to hunt joul'yur. Despite initial reluctance, Ciprian decided that if the girl was to go he was to go as well. And so they set off the next morning in the company of friends, nearly jovial, for they knew not the dangers ahead. Seeing that their group comprised mostly children, the leader of the monster-hunting company saw fit to leave them camping away from the front lines. Unfortunately, this did not keep them from danger. While they were soon to sleep, the party was attacked in the night by invisible creatures- shadow dashers. They managed to hold off the creatures for a time, although one boy was dragged away. When a party returned from fighting Joul'yur to find this, they chased after the boy, only to witness his swift end as his head was removed. Unfortunately, this wasn't the end of it. Delayed by the shadow monster's constant attacks and invisibility in the dark, they could not leave. The party took up combat with a stray Joul'yur, who was dispatched before other monsters came from the woods. This was a forsaken area of the forest. As the fighting kicked up again, Ciprian was jumped upon by a shadow dasher, who rended his throat and killed the squire. As the sun rose and the survivors fled, Ciprian's corpse was devoured by one of the monsters, leaving only some of his garb and his sword to recover. Or so it was thought, by many. Like his father had done before him, Ciprian became a dead man walking, emerging back into society after nearly a year; with a fresh scar. According to him, he survived alone, lost in the eastern forest for many months, always moving and living off the land. This was, until he finally stumbled across the farmlands of Shijon... New Life After being knighted, Ciprian took residence in his service to Drute and Adistone. Peace talks over the war in the North occurred just before Ciprian was sent to fight, and therefore he never had to travel north to fight. Ciprian married Astera Tealeaf in Autumn of that year, and was named Captain of the Drute House Guard on the same day. Post-Avinchy Regency Ciprian was named Regent of Drute following Avinchy Drute, his knight and liege's death. Among the few acts Ciprian took during his regency was an economic and martial alliance with the House of Clynton. He also took the reins of Avinchy's squire; Maine Drute, bastard of Avinchy. However, his regency was fated to be short, and meet an abrubt end. Otherin Otherin was known to be the lizardkin that had played a part in assassinating Avinchy, along with Raine Steile. During a discussion of the heir to Drute, Otherin arrived, interrupting atop a stone dragon. Ciprian was greatly frustrated by this, and even more annoyed upon Countess Maria's remarkably warm attitude toward Otherin. It came ot his attention that Otherin was attempting to force nobles of Adistone into submission, and had achieved high status in the Bureau of Magic. Outraged by this, Ciprian sent a series of messages to top Adistone officials notifying them of Otherin's boldness. After a decoy arrest of an Otherin clone in Enthiour, Ciprian was in a discussion- particularly, he frequently noted how Otherin could be dispatched. In the middle of it, he was dragged beneath the earth via terramancy. Astera grabbed onto him and was dragged down as well, by no surprise was it Otherin that had captured them deep beneath the earth. He noted that he had "heard everything Ciprian told them." Otherin then gave Ciprian an ultimatum. Ciprian's life, or Astera's. Of course, this was an easy decision for Ciprian. He calmly gave Astera his trinkets before being dragged further underground, as his wife was ejected upward. Otherin encased him in stone and killed him quickly, allowing him to die with his dignity intact. Ser Ciprian the Bold A stone statue of Ciprian molded in a knightly pose with his sword in the air appeared on the surface of Enthiour, apparently rising from the ground. The statue was placed in the town square, resting between the stone bench and oak tree, facing north. "Ser Ciprian the Bold" is inscribed on the base of the statue.